President's Welcome

It is with great pride, energy and enthusiasm that I write this letter, welcoming you to learn more about what we have built here, our West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative!

Our Collaborative was born from two shared vision statements. The first, is that the deliberate support of entrepreneurship is the most effective way to improve the quality of life in our communities, decrease unemployment and poverty. And second, no one organization, no individual can solve all the challenges that any neighborhood faces. It takes a partnership, it takes a Collaborative.

Originally starting as a small initiative under the Lancaster Avenue 21st Century Business Association, the Collaborative is now an independent partnership providing support to eleven commercial corridor business associations with a combined membership of well over 1000 independent small business and non-profit organizations.

We create, connect and advocate for resources to help residents in starting a business and help existing businesses reach self-sufficiency and scale by capacity building through contract acquisition, opportunities and consumer traffic.

In 2017, I was happy to report that our office provided over 25 hours of free business workshops and trainings. We coached the creation of two new business associations in underrepresented and areas of Philadelphia, giving businesses in those two communities a voice. We have represented our membership in conversations and board meetings for over $23 Billion in new development. My favorite stat by far for 2017 however, was the over 100 young people we spoke to about entrepreneurship. We stressed that entrepreneurship is an option and that every young person has the capacity to create positive change today.

In 2018, we continued in driving solutions to push our business community forward. Our accomplishments this year included providing over 125 hours of free workshops, and trainings. We expanded a partnership with Drexel University’s ExCITe Center and WordPress to design free websites for small businesses. Funding from the Mayor’s Digital Literacy Grant enabled us to partner with one of our associations to fund digital education for small businesses. Towards the end of the year, I launched our Businesses Giving Back initiative, pushing our businesses to find unconventional ways to support our most vulnerable neighborhoods. My office also began the work of promoting West Philadelphia with trips to Seattle Washington (Amazon’s HQ), Harrisburg, Washington D.C. and engaging with international companies and diplomats through the City's World Heritage initiative.

I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and want to acknowledge the work of our supporters, my long-serving Chief Strategist and my Advisor for Real-Estate and Contracting, every partner, intern and member that has contributed to our success.

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If you are a business, I invite you to connect with us through your local business association. If you are a business association, I encourage you to join our partnership and help us in creating a prosperous West Philadelphia where resident-owned businesses thrive and create wealth that will benefit generations to come.

Sincerely,

Jabari K. Jones

President

West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative

"Through economic development via entrepreneurship, we can take ownership in our communities"​

With development scheduled to happen over the next 25 years on over 175 acres around the entrance of University City and West Philadelphia, some community groups are asking how younger people can be involved.